Posts tagged ‘Mohd Rafi’

November 11, 2010

Guest post: Anand Bakshi

One of the best things about the internet is how much easier it is to find information about people you are interested in. Of course, the downside is that much of it is misinformation, which makes it all the nicer when you stumble across a source that you can have faith in—such as a family member! Of course for we fans of old Hindi cinema, there is still not much out there; this makes me even more grateful when someone like Rakesh Anand Bakshi contacts me. Rakesh is genuinely interested in preserving and sharing his great lyricist father Anand Bakshi’s legacy, and so he should be. Anand Bakshi wrote lyrics for more than 600 Hindi films, including many huge hits and many of my more obscure favorites too!

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December 14, 2008

Trivia time #33

trivia33

The 2001 Hollywood film Ghost World made this song and dance number from Gumnaam famous in the non-Hindi film fan world. Laxmi Chhaya’s verve and enthusiasm coupled with the lively tune and Boy-Wonder-masked backup dancers make for compelling watching. And of course, the singer’s ultra-cool style is the juicy cherry on top of this confection. Much speculation has issued forth as to his identity (is he the eponymous Ted Lyons?).

So today’s trivia question is: who is the manic front man in this wonderful song (the voice of course is Rafi’s)?

You can watch “Jaan Pehchaan Ho” here.

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November 24, 2008

A theme song for the memsaab!

reporter_raju

I have tripped and fallen over a theme song of my very own! There are two reasons, no three many reasons why I cannot resist it:

  1. The lyrics “Lo Memsaab Salaam, Salaam Memsaab Salaam”
  2. Rafi sings it, and I love him; plus, he yodels!*
  3. It’s from Reporter Raju which was made in 1962 (so it’s *almost* as old as I am)
  4. The film is a Wadia Brothers production, and I love the Wadias
  5. Even though Shammi isn’t in it, Feroz Khan does his level best to channel Shammi; and I can close my eyes and pretend it’s Shammi, since it is a very Shammi-like song (Shammi Shammi Shammi!)
  6. It’s lively and fabulous (is there an Indian instrument that sounds like an accordion, or is it an actual accordion? either way, too much fun)
  7. It’s short, like my attention span!

Here it is: “O Chale Ho Kahan Kaho” from Reporter Raju, sung by Rafi, music by S.S. Mohinder:

*Edited to add: My very reliable and informed friend Sunny has informed me that Kishore actually does the yodeling here for Rafi, which makes no material difference to it remaining my theme song, but good to know!

*Edited again to add more: Now more people are on board the it’s-Rafi-yodeling boat, see comments if you are interested! It’s still my theme song, no matter who yodels, even if it’s a Swiss farmer who was imported just for the task.

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